Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy

Well?

Our Padre were a solemn bloke,We called 'im dismal Jim.It fairly gave ye t' bloomin' creeps,To sit and 'ark at 'im,When he were on wi' Judgment Day,Abaht that great white Throne,And 'ow each chap would 'ave to stand,And answer on 'is own.And if 'e tried to charnce 'is arm,And 'ide a single sin,There'd be the angel Gabriel,Wi' books to do 'im in.'E 'ad it all writ dahn, 'e said,And nothin' could be 'id,'E 'ad it all i' black and white,And 'E would take no kid.And every single idle word,A soldier charnced to say,'E'd 'ave it all thrown back at 'im,I' court on Judgment Day.Well I kep' mindin' Billy Briggs,A pal o' mine what died.'E went to 'elp our sergeant Smith,But as 'e reached 'is side,There came and bust atween 'is legs,A big Boche 5.9 pill.And I picked up 'is corpril's stripes,That's all there was o' Bill.I called to mind a stinkin' nightWhen we was carryin' tea.We went round there by Limerick Lane,And Bill was a'ead o' me.'Twere rainin' 'eavens 'ard, ye know,And t' boards were thick wi' muck,And umpteen times we slithered dahn,And got the dicksee stuck.Well when we got there by the switch,A loose board tipped right up,And Bill, 'e turned a somersault,And dahn 'e came, and whup!I've 'eard men blind, I've 'eard 'em cussAnd I've 'eard 'em do it 'ard,Well 'aven't I 'eard our R.S.M.,Inspectin' special guard.But t'other night I dreamed a dream,And just twixt me and you,I never dreamed like that afore,I arf thinks it were true.I dreamed as I were dead, ye see,At least as I 'ad died,For I were very much alive,Out there on t'other side.I couldn't see no judgment court,Nor yet that great white throne,I couldn't see no record books,I seemed to stand alone.I seemed to stand alone, besideA solemn kind o' sea.Its waves they got in my inside,And touched my memory.And day by day, and year by year,My life came back to me.I see'd just what I were, and whatI'd 'ad the charnce to be.And all the good I might 'a' done,An' 'adn't stopped to do.I see'd I'd made an 'ash of it,And Gawd! but it were trueA throng 'o faces came and went,Afore me on that shore,My wife, and Mother, kiddies, pals,And the face of a London whore.And some was sweet, and some was sad,And some put me to shame,For the dirty things I'd done to 'em,When I 'adn't played the game.Then in the silence someone stirred,Like when a sick man groans,And a kind o' shivering chill ran throughThe marrer ov my bones.And there before me someone stood,Just lookin' dahn at me,And still be'ind 'Im moaned and moanedThat everlasting sea.I couldn't speak, I felt as though'E 'ad me by the throat,'Twere like a drownin' fellah feels,Last moment 'e's afloat.And 'E said nowt, 'E just stood still,For I dunno 'ow long.It seemed to me like years and years,But time out there's all wrong.What was 'E like? You're askin' now.Can't word it anyway.'E just were 'Im, that's all I knows.There's things as words can't say.It seemed to me as though 'Is face,Were millions rolled in one.It never changed yet always changed,Like the sea beneath the sun.'Twere all men's face yet no man's face,And a face no man can see,And it seemed to say in silent speech,'Ye did 'em all to me.'The dirty things ye did to them,'The filth ye thought was fine,'Ye did 'em all to me,' it said,'For all their souls were mine.'All eyes was in 'Is eyes, – all eyes,My wife's and a million more.And once I thought as those two eyesWere the eyes of the London whore.And they was sad, – My Gawd 'ow sad,With tears that seemed to shine,And quivering bright wi' the speech o' light,They said, ''Er soul was mine.'And then at last 'E said one word,'E just said one word 'Well?'And I said in a funny voice,'Please can I go to 'Ell?'And 'E stood there and looked at me,And 'E kind o' seemed to grow,Till 'E shone like the sun above my ead,And then 'E answered 'No'You can't, that 'Ell is for the blind,'And not for those that see.'You know that you 'ave earned it, lad,'So you must follow me.'Follow me on by the paths o' pain,'Seeking what you 'ave seen,'Until at last you can build the 'Is,''Wi' the bricks o' the 'Might 'ave been.''That's what 'E said, as I'm alive,And that there dream were true.But what 'E meant, – I don't quite know,Though I knows what I 'as to do.I's got to follow what I's seen,Till this old carcase dies.For I daren't face the land o' grace,The sorrow ov those eyes.There ain't no throne, and there ain't no books,It's 'Im you've got to see,It's 'Im, just 'Im, that is the JudgeOf blokes like you and me.And boys I'd sooner frizzle up,I' the flames of a burning 'Ell,Than stand and look into 'Is face,And 'ear 'Is voice say – 'Well?'